1 - 15 Jan 2017

Could you please provide the council
expenditure on the xmas fireworks that happens every year when the
xmas lights are switched on.

Thank you for your request for information
about the Christmas fireworks which we received on 31 December
2016. Your request has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

- The cost of the Fireworks
at the Christmas Light Switch on was £10,000.

10/1/17

10029

On 6 April 2016 it became compulsory for
owners and keepers to ensure that their dog(s) is/are microchipped.
I would like to request the following information:
1. How many owners/keepers have been served with a notice requiring
them to have their dog(s) microchipped within 21 days?
2. How many owners/keepers have been charged with an offence for
failing to comply with a notice requiring them to have their dog(s)
microchipped within 21 days?
3. How many owners/keepers have been convicted for failing to
comply with the regulation or failing to comply with a notice
served under the legislation?

I refer to your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council on the microchipping of dogs since 6th April
2016. Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists. I can
confirm that Regulatory Services does hold the information you
requested which is included below.

How many owners/keepers have been served with a notice
requiring them to have their dog(s) microchipped within 21
days?

Zero.
2. How many owners/keepers have been charged with an offence for
failing to comply with a notice requiring them to have their dog(s)
microchipped within 21 days?

Zero.

3. How many owners/keepers have been
convicted for failing to comply with the regulation or failing to
comply with a notice served under the legislation?

Zero.

24/1/17

10030

Parking Services

1. What IT system is used by your Parking
Services:

a) for issuing and processing Penalty Charge
Notices

b) for issuing and processing Parking
Permits/Vouchers/Suspensions

2. What is the contract start and end date for
the above system.

3. Does the contract has an option for
extension of the contract, if so, for how long and when would such
extension start and end.

4. Are there any parts of Parking Services
that are outsourced, if so, which parts and to what company.

5. Does the Council's Parking Services are in
any parking partnership or multi-borough alliance for the purpose
of Parking Services, if so, please outline what
partnership/alliance.

II. Procurement Services

6. Where does the Council advertise
procurement opportunities?

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

Please find the information you requested
below.

1. What IT system is used by your Parking
Services:

a) For issuing and processing Penalty Charge
Notices

Parking Gateway

b) For issuing and processing Parking
Permits/Vouchers/Suspensions

Permit Gateway

2. What is the contract start and end date for
the above system.

Start date November 2000 and is an ongoing
contract.

3. Does the contract have an option for
extension of the contract, if so, for how long and when would such
extension start and end.

Not applicable

4. Are there any parts of Parking Services
that are outsourced, if so, which parts and to what company.

No. All in house.

5. Does the Council's Parking Services are in
any parking partnership or multi-borough alliance for the purpose
of Parking Services, if so, please outline what
partnership/alliance.

No.

II. Procurement Services

6. Where does the Council advertise
procurement opportunities?

The Council advertises in Contracts Finder and
TED (Tenders Electronic Daily) if over OJEU value.

13/1/17

10031

1. How many people were found guilty of not
paying their council tax by a court in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016 (in either calendar or financial years, however this
information is held)?

2. How many people were sentenced to
imprisonment for failure to pay their council tax in 2011,
2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (in either calendar or financial
years, however this information is held)?

2 (a) Of those people sentenced to
imprisonment, how many people subsequently paid their
council tax in full to avoid imprisonment in those same
years?

3. If possible, please provide how long each
prison sentence was for the individual found guilty of not paying
their council tax in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016
(in either calendar or financial years, however this information is
held)?

I refer to your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council. Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information
Act, the authority must state whether or not the information exists
and I confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

Please find the information you requested below:

1. How many people were found guilty of not paying their council
tax by a court in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (in either
calendar or financial years, however this information is held)?

YEAR NUMBER
2011 0
2012
1
2013
6
2014
3
2015
0
2016
0

2. How many people were sentenced to imprisonment for failure to
pay their council tax in 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (in
either calendar or financial years, however this information is
held)?

A 90 day suspended sentence was imposed in each case referred to
in (1) above.

2 (a) Of those people sentenced to imprisonment, how many people
subsequently paid their council tax in full to avoid imprisonment
in those same years?

Payment in full has now been made in respect of three of the
cases where a suspended sentence was imposed.

3. If possible, please provide how long each prison sentence was
for the individual found guilty of not paying their council tax in
2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016 (in either calendar or financial
years, however this information is held)?

Each suspended sentence was for a 90 day period.

24/1/17

10032

Please could you let me know if you provide a
service visit through your community domiciliary care service
purely to assist with medication ?

If yes, how many people are in receipt of this
service ?

If yes, please can you tell me the daily cost
per person ?

If yes, please can you advise who the contract
manager is ?

I refer to your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I can confirm that we do not hold the
information you requested.

This information is not recorded in a way
which we can report upon to provide the data requested.

30/1/17

10033

1. How many reports of sexual abuse of
disabled clients has your council recorded over the financial years
2015-16 and 2016-current date?

The following questions constitute a Freedom
of Information request from The Children’s Society:

(1) How many households were in Council
Tax Debt, and what was the total amount of Council Tax debt owed by
these households, at the end of each financial year from 2003/04 to
2015/16?

(2) What was the total amount of Council
Tax debt (a) repaid and (b) written off during the course of each
financial year from 2003/04 to 2015/16?

(3) With regard to the repayments stated
in part (2), (a) how many of the households making repayments were
doing so through a Debt Management Plan, and (b) how much was
repaid through a Debt Management Plan?

(4) How many objections to Debt
Management Plan proposals have the council made in each of the
financial years from 2010/11 to 2015/16? Please indicate how
many of these were objections to (a) initial DMP proposals, and (b)
proposals for variation of an existing DMP.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

(1) How many households were in Council
Tax Debt, and what was the total amount of Council Tax debt owed by
these households, at the end of each financial year from 2003/04 to
2015/16?

The attached spreadsheet details the
outstanding Council Tax by year as at 31 March 2016.

In addition on 31 March 2016 there were
6,104 accounts with a balance outstanding in respect of the 2015/16
financial year.

(2) What was the total amount of Council
Tax debt (a) repaid and (b) written off during the course of each
financial year from 2003/04 to 2015/16?

The attached spreadsheet details the
total Council Tax that has been paid by year as at 31 March
2016. It also details the amount written off by year as at 31
March 2016.

(3) With regard to the repayments stated
in part (2), (a) how many of the households making repayments were
doing so through a Debt Management Plan, and (b) how much was
repaid through a Debt Management Plan?

The Council does not hold records on
Debt Management Plans.

(4) How many objections to Debt
Management Plan proposals have the council made in each of the
financial years from 2010/11 to 2015/16? Please indicate how
many of these were objections to (a) initial DMP proposals, and (b)
proposals for variation of an existing DMP.

Please accept this email as a request for the
following information, in relation to the property known at:

Margetts Road

Kempston Bedford

Access is required to records containing the
information necessary to answer the following questions of the
CON29R form:

3.1 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.2 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (b) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (c) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (d) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (e) – Highways Development Control
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (f) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (g) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.9 (a)-(n) - Planning Department, Bedford
Borough Council

3.10 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

3.12 – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.14 - Environmental Health
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.15 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

Thank you for your requests for information. Your request
has been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.
Regarding the questions relating to planning, the Planning
department advise that all information relating to planning
applications is available on our website:

Please accept this email as a request for the
following information, in relation to the property known at:

Radcliffe Mews Shortstown

Access is required to records containing the
information necessary to answer the following questions of the
CON29R form:

3.1 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.2 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (b) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (c) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (d) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (e) – Highways Development Control
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (f) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (g) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.9 (a)-(n) - Planning Department, Bedford
Borough Council

3.10 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

3.12 – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.14 - Environmental Health
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.15 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

Thank you for your requests for information. Your request
has been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.
Regarding the questions relating to planning, the Planning
department advise that all information relating to planning
applications is available on our website:

Former Britannia Works Site
Copies of a Site Plan and Discharge of Contaminated Land Conditions
relating to this recent residential redevelopment?

Thank you for your request for information about The former
Britannia Ironworks, which we received on 4th January
2017. Your request has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

Please refer to the Planning Department to
confirm whether conditions have been discharged at this site.
Instructions for interrogating the Planning pages on the Bedford
Borough Council website are as follows. If you are not able to find
the information you require on the website, please contact the
Planning Department directly.

• If you have a planning
application number or the first line of the address:

• You can type this into
the simple search screen click on search then the Related Items
Tab.

• Under the Heading Click link
below to view planning history, Click on the address of the
property (Please note there may be several addresses shown click on
the one that is relevant to the application you are looking
at)

• Click on the Tab -
Planning History

• All the relevant
applications including conditions are listed here

• For a more
detailed Property Search:

• Click on the Property
Tab followed by address search. Please ensure you follow the
instruction on this screen labelled: HELP WITH THIS PAGE, on the
right hand side:

• To view plans, decision
notices, click on the Documents tab followed by View Associated
Docs

• To view the File
Correspondence:

If you require assistance searching for the application
numbers or copies of documents, please visit the Customer Contact
Centre or ring 01234 718068 or refer to the How To
Guides on

Can you inform me whether or whether not your council is
adhering to the National Space Standards for planning.

Thank you for your request for information about National Space
Standards which we received on 4 January 2017. Your request has
been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

Can you inform me whether or whether not your
council is adhering to the National Space Standards for planning.
Attached is a document from the Department for Communities and
Local Government. This information is needed as we currently build
timber modular dwellings a would like to start offering them in
your area. – No the council is not adhering to the National
Space Standards for planning.

6/1/17

10040

Can you please provide me with details of the
management of the council-owned leisure facilities within your
authority. If they are all managed in-house please say so. Where
any services are contracted out to a third party please provide the
following information for each service: -

1. Description of service provided

2. Name of contractor

3. Start date of contract

4. Duration of contract plus any extension
options

5. End date of contract

6. Contract value (please make clear if the
figure provided is the total contract value or an annual value)

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested. The information you requested for Leisure is
as follows:

1. Description of service provided
– Leisure and Sports Development

2. Name of contractor –
Fusion Lifestyle

3. Start date of contract –
February 2014

4. Duration of contract plus any
extension options - 10 year contract with an option to
extend for another 5 years.

5. End date of contract –
February 2024

6. Contract value - £79,580
per annum. This is the current annual value for 2016/17. The
value will go up by the RPI each year.

18/1/17

10041

I would like to request the following information relating to
the local council tax support scheme (sometimes referred to as
council tax reduction) in your area.
Please note that questions 1 and 2 apply to intended changes to the
local council tax support scheme in your area in April 2017.
Question 3 also applies to specific changes, but includes the
option of specifying that the change may have happened in a
previous year. Question 4 relates to the introduction of
protections for vulnerable groups and to other exemptions. Please
answer questions 3 and 4 regardless of your answer to question
1.
If constraints on your time become an issue, I would also greatly
appreciate that you prioritise responding to questions 1-3. I would
appreciate if you could let me know if you do not have time to
answer question 4.
Changes to the scheme in 2017/18
1.Does your local authority intend to change its current council
tax support scheme in April 2017? (yes/no/undecided)
2.If yes, please outline if and how any of the following components
of the scheme will change in 2017/18:
Component of Council tax Support Scheme
Require all residents to pay at least some of their council tax
liability, regardless of income
Cap the amount that can be claimed based on the band of the
property
The rate at which council tax support is withdrawn (tapered) as
income increases
The maximum capital/savings someone can have to be eligible for
council tax support (savings limit)
The minimum amount of council tax support that can be claimed
before it is withdrawn in full
Entitlement to a second adult rebate
Components of income that are included in the means-test (e.g.
child maintenance, disability benefits)
The hardship funding available to affected residents
Other components of the scheme
Please answer questions 3 and 4 regardless of your answer to
question 1.

3.Has your local authority introduced either of the following
changes to its council tax support scheme, and if so, when?
Component of Council tax Support Scheme
Assumption of a minimum income for the self-employed
Removal of the Family Premium
Specific protections for vulnerable groups
4.Do protections or exemptions for any of the following groups in
your local authority’s current council tax support scheme?
Protected or exempted group
Families with a disabled person
Families with young children
Lone parents
Carers
Residents in particular council tax band (e.g. Band A)
Other

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested, which is
below against each of your questions except for Q.4.

Please provide a list of all planning
applications submitted on or after 1st October 2013 where no
decision was made within 26 weeks (unless a longer period has been
agreed in writing between the applicant and the local planning
authority) and NO refund of fees has been made to date. The
information should be provided in the following format/columns.

Col 1: Planning Application Number

Col 2: Applicant Name

Col 3: Planning Application Date

Col 4: Planning Application Fee Paid / £

Col 5: Decision 'Due By' Date

Col 6: Decision Date 'Actual'

Col 7: Extension Agreed (if appropriate) - Yes
or No?

Thank you for your request for information
about planning applications which we received on 4 January 2017.
Your request has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

b) the number of complaints, in relation to
bird scarers, received over the last 2 years broken down for
each year, for 2015 and 2016;

c) whether the landowner/farmer had
followed the NFU Code of Practice;

d) the details of any environmental noise
levels taken, including distance from the noise source and was this
a good reflection of the noise, i.e. no other influential noise
sources or taken during unacceptable weather conditions for taking
noise measurements;

e) whether the investigating officer
considered the noise to be a Statutory Nuisance for Noise under
section 79(g) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.

f) did the Local Authority serve any Abatement
Notices under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990
in the years 2015 and 2016, distinguished for each year; and if so
did the Authority stipulate measures that are required to abate the
nuisance.

g) has the Local Authority produced any
‘local’ guidance for bird scarers and if so please include a copy
in your response.

h) does the Local Authority have a procedure
and/or standard form to for farmers to register bird
scarers.

i) if ‘yes’ to h) how many times have bird
scarers been registered using this procedure in 2015 and 2016.

Thank you for your request for information about audible
agricultural bird scaring devices which we received on the 4th
January 2017. Your request has been considered under the
Environmental Information Regulations 2004 and I have answered your
questions below.

a) Do you have a complaint management protocol for bird
scarers?
No, complaints about bird scarers are dealt with using our standard
Statutory noise nuisance procedure.

b) The number of complaints, in relation to bird scarers,
received over the last 2 years broken down for each year, for 2015
and 2016.

Year
No. bird scarer complaints

received

2015
3
2016
4

c) Whether the landowner/farmer had followed the NFU Code
of Practice?
Of the 7 cases received in the last 2 years one farmer indicated
that he was following the NFU Code of Practice.

d) The details of any environmental noise levels taken,
including distance from the noise source and was this a good
reflection of the noise, i.e. no other influential noise sources or
taken during unacceptable weather conditions for taking noise
measurements.
No noise levels were taken in any of the cases referred to in
question b.

e) Whether the investigating officer considered the noise
to be a Statutory Nuisance for Noise under section 79(g) of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990?
No.

f) Did the Local Authority serve any Abatement Notices
under section 80 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 in the
years 2015 and 2016, distinguished for each year; and if so did the
Authority stipulate measures that are required to abate the
nuisance?
No.

g) Has the Local Authority produced any ‘local’ guidance
for bird scarers and if so please include a copy in your
response?

No – we use the NFU Guidance if required.

h) Does the Local Authority have a procedure and/or
standard form to for farmers to register bird scarers?
No

i) If ‘yes’ to h) how many times have bird scarers been
registered using this procedure in 2015 and 2016?
N/A

27/1/17

10044

Please accept this email as a request for the
following information, in relation to the property known at:

High Road

Cotton End Bedford

Access is required to records containing the
information necessary to answer the following questions of the
CON29R form:

3.1 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.2 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (b) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (c) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (d) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (e) – Highways Development Control
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (f) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (g) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.9 (a)-(n) - Planning Department, Bedford
Borough Council

3.10 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

3.12 – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.14 - Environmental Health
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.15 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

Thank you for your requests for information. Your request
has been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.
Regarding the questions relating to planning, the Planning
department advise that all information relating to planning
applications is available on our website:

Please accept this email as a request for the
following information, in relation to the property known at:

High Street Clapham Bedford

Access is required to records containing the
information necessary to answer the following questions of the
CON29R form:

3.1 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.2 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (b) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (c) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (d) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (e) – Highways Development Control
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (f) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (g) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.9 (a)-(n) - Planning Department, Bedford
Borough Council

3.10 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

3.12 – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.14 - Environmental Health
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.15 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

Thank you for your requests for information. Your request
has been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.
Regarding the questions relating to planning, the Planning
department advise that all information relating to planning
applications is available on our website:

Under the Freedom of Information Act 2003 I am seeking
information about applications for the Discretionary Housing
Payment.Questions:

What is the total discretionary housing payment budget
available to the council for 2014/2015 financial year [include, and
specify, any additional funds granted]?

What is the total discretionary housing payment budget
available to the council for 2015/2016 financial year [include, and
specify, any additional funds granted]?

What is the total discretionary housing payment budget
available to the council for 2016/2017 financial year [include, and
specify, any additional funds granted]?

Did your council exceed its government Discretionary Housing
Payment allocation in the 2015/2016 financial year? If so, by how
much?

Did your council exceed its government Discretionary Housing
Payment allocation in the 2014/2015 financial year? If so, by how
much?

How many applications for the Discretionary Housing Payment in
2014/2015 and 2015/2016 were successful because of the benefit
cap?

How many households have you predicted will be affected by the
new lower benefit cap which started to be rolled out in November
2016 and will finish being implemented in 2017?

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.
Please find the information you requested below:
1. What is the total discretionary housing payment budget available
to the council for 2014/2015 financial year [include, and specify,
any additional funds granted]?
£344,274
2. What is the total discretionary housing payment budget available
to the council for 2015/2016 financial year [include, and specify,
any additional funds granted]?
£254,161
3. What is the total discretionary housing payment budget available
to the council for 2016/2017 financial year [include, and specify,
any additional funds granted]?
£308,094
4. Did your council exceed its government Discretionary Housing
Payment allocation in the 2015/2016 financial year? If so, by how
much?
£5,365
5. Did your council exceed its government Discretionary Housing
Payment allocation in the 2014/2015 financial year? If so, by how
much?
£2,257
6. How many applications for the Discretionary Housing Payment in
2014/2015 and 2015/2016 were successful because of the benefit
cap?
2014/2015 63
2015/2016 26
7. How many households have you predicted will be affected by
the new lower benefit cap which started to be rolled out in
November 2016 and will finish being implemented in 2017? 82

12/1/17

10047

Please see below my freedom of information
act request. If you cannot answer all or some of the questions
please could you respond anyway?

I would like information on people dying
with no next of kin being known at the time of death from 1/10/16
to the day of your response to this request. If someone died before
1/10/16 but the case has only come to your attention since,
could you please also include details, as follows:

Surnames and forenames or initials

Dates of death

Age at death or date of birth

Place of birth

Marital status

Maiden surnames of married or widowed women

Usual address at time of death

Approx. value of their estate if known

The date you sent information to the Government Legal
Department (or, if in Lancashire, the Duchy of Lancaster, or,
if in Cornwall, the Duchy of Cornwall), or confirmation that
this action was not applicable.

If you have yet to send the information on, as per 9
above, or a decision has not yet been made whether or not to do so,
please also advise of this.

Further to your request for information dated 30/11/16 I can
confirm that the information you requested is held under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, the Council, for the
reasons that follow, declines to disclose the information
requested.

Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the
Council

1. States that
the above is exempt information.

2. Specifies, that
the exemption in question is the subject of an absolute exemption
contained within Section 21(Information accessible to
applicant by other means) Please see link for Public Health Funerals

26/17

10048

It would be great to know:

How many council-owned properties there currently are in your
district?

How many of these properties are currently standing empty?

this refers to domestic properties.

Further to your request for information, I can confirm that the
information you requested is held under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. However, the Council, for the reasons that follow,
declines to disclose the information requested.
You requested information on Business rates as stated in your
e-mail below.
Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the Council
1.States that the Business Rates data sets information requested is
exempt information.
2.Specifies, that the exemption in question is the subject of an
absolute exemption contained within Section 21 of the FOI Act
(FOIA).
An explanation follows below:The Business Rates data sets are now
published on the website.

As a rule these will be updated as
follows:

Business Rates Data Sets – Monthly
Balances

Written on and off – At least quarterly
(possibly six monthly)

Credit Balances – Bi-monthly

11/1/17

10049

For the period beginning January 2006 until
the end of December 2016, please provide information for the
following questions.

1) How many cyclists make complaints to
(relevant department) about road safety every month?

2) How many road safety incidents take place
each month involving a cyclist?

3) How many crashes occur each month involving
a cyclist and a motor vehicle?

Thank you for your request for information about road safety
incidents which we received on 5 January 2017. Your request has
been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004. The information you requested is as follows:

1) How many cyclists make complaints
to (relevant department) about road safety every
month?

Please refer to Tab 1 attached.

This includes all complaints about cycling by
month between Jan 2012 and Dec 2016.

Complaints about cycling include complaints
about the safety of cycling, cycling infrastructure and pedestrian
complaints about cyclists

2) How many road safety incidents take
place each month involving a cyclist?

Please refer to Tab 2 attached.

Shows the breakdown for 545 casualties
involved in cycling accidents in Bedford by month of year from Jan
2008 to Dec 2016.

Shows what casualties were involved in cycling
accidents. There were 526 cyclist casualties, 8 pedestrian
casualties, with 11 other casualties.

3) How many crashes occur each month
involving a cyclist and a motor vehicle?

Please refer to Tab 2 attached.

Shows what other vehicles were involved in the
cycling accidents. 537 involved motorised vehicles.

I am seeking information about your council’s
local welfare assistance scheme for provision of essential help for
local people in financial hardship.

Could you send me details of:

1) All assistance that people can access
through your council’s local welfare assistance scheme (ie if
people receive cash, or if they are provided directly with pre-paid
cards, or white goods and furniture, etc).

Please indicate whether your scheme is a grant
or loan scheme, or a combination.

If your scheme is a loan scheme, please send a
link to application and repayment information.

Could you also indicate how many loans have
been paid out this year and the median amount of loans.

2) the number of applicants to your scheme
since April 2016 to date.

3) information regarding the cost of LWA so
far this financial year (2016-2017) at your council. Are there
adequate funds to continue provision until the end of April
2017?

4) Eligibility criteria (or links to
eligibility criteria and the means for application) if the criteria
have changed since April 2016.

5) the three most common reasons that people
applied for local welfare assistance in 2016.

6) are people whose benefits have been stopped
or sanctioned through DWP sanctions processes excluded from LWA
applications?

7) Does your council plan to stop, scale back
or outsource local welfare provision in the 2017-2018
year?

If your council does plan to cut or stop
provision, can you list any alternate local services or officers at
the council that people can approach for help in hardship?

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

1) All assistance that people can access
through your council’s local welfare assistance scheme (ie if
people receive cash, or if they are provided directly with pre-paid
cards, or white goods and furniture, etc).

6) are people whose benefits have been stopped
or sanctioned through DWP sanctions processes excluded from LWA
applications?

Yes – Grants will not be awarded in
circumstances where provision is made elsewhere through public
funds, including other funding available from the Council, to
provide assistance for those circumstances. The DWP has a hardship
policy for claimants who have been sanctioned. However, the LWP
policy allows the Grant Assessors to use discretion in exceptional
circumstances.

7) Does your council plan to stop, scale back
or outsource local welfare provision in the 2017-2018
year?

No

If your council does plan to cut or stop
provision, can you list any alternate local services or officers at
the council that people can approach for help in hardship?

Not applicable

10/1/17

10051

The following numbers give you some idea of the challenges we
face and the additional demand on our services:
• In the last four years there has been an eightfold increase in
the number of nights of temporary accommodation we need to provide
for homeless families;

Q Actual numbers please
• Each day we make 815 home care visits;

Q Actual “homes or individual” visits - or is
that multiple visits to same house e.g. helping up in morning and
to bed at night?

• Since 2012, there has been a 70% increase in
the number of children subject to Child Protection plans;

Q Actual numbers please

• Our overall spending is expected to reduce
by 3.3% from 2015/16 to 2016/17,

Q Overall as is “all council” spending -
does that mean all income e.g. funds of any sort from Central
Govt and funds from council tax which council collects and
keeps? Is there somewhere that shows full picture of council
incomes/revenues etc please

however spending on Adult Social Care is
projected to increase by 9.3% or £4.3 million over the same period,
due to the higher number of people receiving care but also the
complexity of care packages.

Q Increase by £4.3 million per year to how
much please

please explain complexity of care packages

I refer to your recent enquiry for information
held by the Council. Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

It is anticipated that the contract will be
retendered within 2017 and the total contract value is
£626,570.00.Can you confirm who the controlling body is for the
retendering of the contract, as I am now aware that
Bedfordshire County Council has now been broken down into the three
Unitary

councils. Bedford,
Central Bedfordshire, and Luton.

“The contract was initially held by
Bedfordshire County Council and was disaggregated to the two
Unitary Authorities post 1st April 2009. Bedford Borough
Council holds the contract for the delivery of telecare services in
its administrative area (please refer to our original response in
relation Part B). The Council is currently reviewing the model for
delivery of telecare services and discussions are in progress with
Bedfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group (BCCG) on a potential
collaboration. For this reason, the contract will be reviewed once
the future delivery model has been agreed.”

6/1/17

10053

Can you please provide me with any
documentation either by leaflet, contractual with provider or
otherwise for misuse of refuse bins in the Bedford area.

Requester did not respond to clarification sought

10054

I am requesting disclosure of the following
information under the Freedom of Information Act:

1. The number of people
(excluding carers) who received council-funded adult social care
services in 2013/14, broken down between age groups 18-64 and 65+
(full-year figure)

2. The number of people
(excluding carers) who received council-funded adult social care
services in 2014/15, broken down between age groups 18-64 and 65+
(full-year figure)

3. The number of people
(excluding carers) who received council-funded adult social care
services in 2015/16, broken down between age groups 18-64 and 65+
(full-year figure)

4. The number of people
(excluding carers) who received council-funded community-based
services each year in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 respectively,
each broken down between age groups 18-64 and 65+ (full-year
figure)

5. The number of people
(excluding carers) who received council-funded residential care
each year in 2013/14, 2014/15 and 2015/16 respectively, each broken
down between age groups 18-64 and 65+ (full-year figure)

6. Please list the number of
people (excluding carers) who received each separate type of
council-funded community based service each year in 2013/14,
2014/15 and 2015/16 respectively, each broken down between age
groups 18-64 and 65+ (full-year figure)

It is assumed that due to people receiving
more than one type of care package during the course of a year, the
figures for questions 1-3 may not match the corresponding total
figures for each year for questions 4-6.

7. Please list the residential
and/or nursing adult care homes that the council owned in April
2010, plus (if available) the number of people each home could
house.

8. Please list the residential
and/or nursing adult care homes that the council currently owns,
plus (if available) the number of people each home can house.

9. Please state the current
number of occupants in each home listed in response to question
8.

10. For each
council-owned residential or nursing adult that has either been
closed or transferred out of council ownership since April 2010,
please provide the council report setting out the reasons for the
closure/transfer and any consultation and/or impact assessment that
was carried out.

11. Please advise how
long this request has taken to fulfil (as per the terms of the
section 12 cost limit)

If responding to this request
would exceed the section 12 cost limit, please remove the age group
breakdowns from questions 4-6 and fulfil the remainder of those
questions, and the remainder of the request. If further narrowing
of the request is necessary to bring it within section 12, please
exclude question 6 entirely and fulfil the remainder of the
request. If further narrowing of the request is still
necessary to bring it within section 12, please further exclude
question 11 and fulfil the remainder of the request.

Please note again that questions 1-6 exclude
carers.

In addition, I would like the council to
inform me of the following under the "duty to assist":

12. What kind of
information the council holds on reviews of care packages and their
outcomes, and how this information is stored (i.e. how retrievable
it is)

13. What kind of
information the council holds on sanctions and penalties imposed on
care users with self-directed support and/or direct payments for
misuse of funds

I refer to your recent enquiry for information
held by the Council. Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

· Ratepayer name (Information
is only requested where the ratepayer is a company and not an
individual as I appreciate this is limited by the Data Protection
Acts).

· Address of
property concerned.

· Amount of
overpayment/write on.

· If possible, the
period/financial year relating to overpayment/credit/write on.

Further to your request for information, I can confirm that the
information you requested is held under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. However, the Council, for the reasons that follow,
declines to disclose the information requested.
You requested information on Business rates as stated in your
e-mail below.
Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the Council
1.States that the Business Rates data sets information requested is
exempt information.
2.Specifies, that the exemption in question is the subject of an
absolute exemption contained within Section 21 of the FOI Act
(FOIA).
An explanation follows below:The Business Rates data sets are now
published on the website.

As a rule these will be updated as
follows:

Business Rates Data Sets – Monthly
Balances

Written on and off – At least six
monthly(possibly quarterly)

Credit Balances – Bi-monthly

6/1/117

10056

DO YOU PROVIDE AN INTERPRETATION SERVICE FOR NON-ENGLISH
SPEAKING CLIENTS? YES/NO
If yes are the interpreters:
directly employed by the local authority
commissioned as required from a third party
WHAT ARE THE THREE MOST COMMON LANGUAGES FOR WHICH INTERPRETATION
IS REQUESTED IN YOUR AUTHORITY?
WHICH AREA OF WORK HAS THE GREATEST DEMAND FOR INTERPRETING
SERVICES IN YOUR AUTHORITY? PLEASE RANK IN ORDER OF PRIORITY
FROM BENEFITS/HOUSING, EDUCATION AND SOCIAL CARE.
HOW MANY REQUESTS FOR INTERPRETING SERVICES TAKE PLACE ON AN ANNUAL
BASIS IN YOUR AUTHORITY?
WHAT IS THE ANNUAL COST TO PROVIDE INTERPRETING SERVICES IN YOUR
AUTHORITY?

DOES THE AUTHORITY HAVE A POLICY ON THE USE OF INTERPRETING
SERVICES? YES/NO
If yes can you provide a copy of the
policy?
Yes/No
DO YOU MEASURE THE QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF THE INTERPRETATION
PROVIDED? YES/NO
If yes how is this measured, could you provide a copy of your
quality framework?
Yes/No
HAVE THE NUMBER OF REQUESTS FOR INTERPRETING SERVICES WITHIN YOUR
AUTHORITY INCREASED, DECREASED OR REMAINED STATIC OVER THE LAST 5
YEARS?

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

Please find the information you requested
attached and remainder of our service do not use Translation and
Interpreting.

The annual cost to provide interpreting
services is - £135,140 in Financial Year 2015/2016 please
note this includes the figures provided in ‘interpreting
questionnaire (LG PP) attachment.

A list of all credit balances on NNDR accounts where the
credit balance is on the current or closed account or where the
credit balance is on the account for a past year where the credit
has not been brought forward.

If a credit balance has been Written On rather than refunded, I
would also be grateful for details of those accounts.

If you are able to do this, I would like, for each Credit
Balance or Write On:

1. The address of the hereditament

2. The Account Reference or Property Reference of the
hereditament.

3. The name of the account holder

4. The value of the credit/overpayment.

5. The rate year(s) to which the credit/overpayment refers.

Further to your request for information, I can confirm that the
information you requested is held under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. However, the Council, for the reasons that follow,
declines to disclose the information requested.
You requested information on Business rates as stated in your
e-mail below.
Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the Council
1.States that the Business Rates data sets information requested is
exempt information.
2.Specifies, that the exemption in question is the subject of an
absolute exemption contained within Section 21 of the FOI Act
(FOIA).
An explanation follows below:The Business Rates data sets are now
published on the website.

As a rule these will be updated as
follows:

Business Rates Data Sets – Monthly
Balances

Written on and off – At least six
monthly(possibly quarterly)

Credit Balances – Bi-monthly

6/1/17

10058

Please provide a list from the Highways
Department for all traffic schemes which have been approved but not
yet implemented by the council and specifically for:

(a) permanent stopping up or diversion

(b) waiting or loading restrictions

(c) one way driving

(d) prohibition of driving

(e) pedestrianisation

(f) vehicle width or weight restriction

(g) traffic calming works including road
humps

(h) residents parking controls

(i) minor road widening or improvement

(j) pedestrian crossings

(k) cycle tracks

(l) bridge building

Thank you for your request asking for a list of traffic schemes
which have been approved but not yet implemented by the Council
which we received on 6 January 2017. Your request has been
considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

Can you please confirm that the section is
part of an adopted road by the Council?

If it is adopted then would you please under a
Freedom of Information request let me have answers to the
following.

· Details of any inspections
carried out on that section of road in the last two years.

· Details of any carriageway
defects identified during these inspections.

· Details of the way in which the
carriageway is inspected.

· The intended frequency of these
inspections.

· The criteria for repairing a
pothole – that is to say, how large one must be before it is
repaired.

· The time period between
the first report of a pothole and its repair.

· Details of any and all complaints
about the state of the road surface on the section of road in
question in the two years beforehand.

Thank you for your request for information about a section of
road in Potters Cross, Wootton which we received on 8 January 2017.
Your request has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

As confirmed in Andrew Prigmore’s e-mail to
you today (10 January 2017) the section of road in Potters Cross is
adopted up to the boundary of No. 28. Beyond this point the road is
“private”. There is a bridleway extending over the remaining
section of road, but this will only be maintained to a width and
condition that a horse can traverse.

10/1/17

10061

We would like if possible to send details of our
latest development which is a Multi Purpose Detection &
Recording System in PDF format to any of your team members that may
have a need for this type of equipment.
It would be much appreciated if you could let us have emails
address of any enforcement officers that may have an interest in
this type of kit.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested. The
details of the recipient that you can send your latest development
for Multi-Purpose Detection & Recording System to is:

Contract start, duration ,value and the name of the current
provider of smoking cessation prograrmme

Contract start, duration ,value and the name of the current
provider of Health Trainer programme

Contract start, duration ,value and the name of the current
provider of Weight Management programme

Contract start, duration ,value and the name of the current
provider of NHS Health check programme

Contract start, duration ,value and the name of the current
provider of single point of access

Contract start, duration ,value and the name of the current
provider of any excercise on referral scheme

Contract start, duration ,value and the name of the current
provider of Integrated lifestyle services

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested. Please
see our response attached.

I would like to request the following information
regarding the council's IT infrastructure:

1.Do you currently have an IT service desk in
place?

2.What software tool is in place?

3.What is the cost for this service charged by the
provider (including any maintenance fees)

4.When is the contract due to be reviewed?

5.Who is the contact responsible for your IT
Service Desk Software

I refer to your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council. Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act,
the authority must state whether or not the information exists and
I confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

1. Do you currently have an IT service
desk in place? Yes

2. What software tool is in place? LANDesk

3. What is the cost for this service charged
by the provider (including any maintenance fees) £7,371.42

4. When is the contract due to be reviewed? We
are not tied into a contract

5. Who is the contact responsible for your IT
Service Desk Software – Rughbir Singh – Head of ICT Operations –
contact details

Tel:01234 718224

Email:rughbir.singh@bedford.gov.uk

18/1/17

10064

In accordance with the provisions specified within the above Act
I hereby request the following information or an update of the
information since the last request. All information requested
relates to Business Rates.

Required Information;- completion notices
issued for the purposes of Business Rates (NNDR) since
4th November 2016

A copy of the notice in its original format – ie, copy of signed
document

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

The number of occasions and breakdown of each
individual case where Social Services (or any other Bedford Borough
department) have paid off debts accrued by tenants in relation to
housing/council tax payments

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
can confirm that we do hold the information you
requested.

Please find information as requested
below:

1st April 2016 to 31st December 2016: Total
payments to Housing Associations = 20, Number of Rent Arrears
Payments = 10

1st April 2015 to 31st March 2016: Total
payments to Housing Associations = 14, Number of Rent Arrears
Payments = 6

I can confirm we did not make any payment to
Housing Associations for any other year.

6/2/17

10066

My questions on Priory Court are:
How many properties in Priory court fall into the categories of
being a) Owner occupied with a mortgage, b) owner- unencumbered C)
Owner - Right to buy.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I can confirm that we do not hold the
information you requested.

Please note this information is held by Bedfordshire Pilgrims
Housing Association (BPHA) as the Council transferred the housing
stock to them in 1989. They can be contacted at info@bpha@org.uk however please let
me know if you would like me to send your request on to them.

2/3/17

10067

Please could I request an up to date list of all contractors,
subcontractors and suppliers that have or will be involved with the
building project at Wixams academy?

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or

not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

Please find your request and our
response below:

Please could I request an up to
date list of all contractors, subcontractors and suppliers
that

Please accept this email as a request for the
following information, in relation to the property known at:

Baker Drive Kempston Bedford

Access is required to records containing the
information necessary to answer the following questions of the
CON29R form:

3.1 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.2 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (b) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (c) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (d) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (e) – Highways Development Control
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (f) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (g) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.9 (a)-(n) - Planning Department, Bedford
Borough Council

3.10 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

3.12 – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.14 - Environmental Health
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.15 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

Thank you for your requests for information. Your request
has been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.
Regarding the questions relating to planning, the Planning
department advise that all information relating to planning
applications is available on our website:

Can you please provide me under the FOI Act a breakdown of all
council procurement card/credit card spending for the 2016 calendar
year.
If you can only provide the information for the last full financial
year

Further to your request for information, I can
confirm that the information you requested is held under the
Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, the Council, for the
reasons that follow, declines to disclose the information
requested.

Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the
Council

1. States that the information is
exempt information.

2 Specifies, that the exemption in
question is contained within Section 21 of the Freedom of
Information Act – information reasonably accessible by other
means.

RE:Saxon Way, Bedford, Bedfordshire,Please
could you supply the following Con29 information as relates to the
above property/ies, pursuant to the Environmental Information
Regulations:

Con29 3.3Drainage is the property served by sustainable urban drainage
system/ Are there any SuDs featured within the boundary of the
property? If yes, is the owner responsible for
maintenance?Con29 3.7Do any statutory notices
which relate to the following matters exist in relation to the
property other than those revealed in a response to any other
enquiry herein:

Con29 3.11Has
any enforceable order or decision been made to compulsorily
purchase or acquire the property?Con29 3.12 Do any of the following apply
(including any relating to land adjacent to or adjoining the
property which has been identified as contaminated land because it
is in such a condition that harm or pollution of controlled waters
might be caused on the property) –

(a) a contaminated land notice;

(b) in relation to a register maintained
under section 78R of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(5)
–

(i) a decision to make an entry;
or

(ii) an entry; or

(c) consultation with the owner or
occupier of the property conducted under section 78G(3) of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990(6) before the service of a
remediation notice?

Thank you for your request for information.
Your request has been considered under the Environmental
Information Regulations 2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.

2) How
many additional childcare places are needed to
fulfil the Government’s 30 hours free childcare Scheme by the
September of the following years; 2017; 2018; 2019; 2020;
2021?

Answer: 2017 We cannot provide an
exact figure as we are currently working with providers to increase
15-30 hours places. We will be delivering 200 new 30 hour places
using CAPITAL in 2017-2018

1/2/17

10072

Under the FOI Act could you please tell me how much
your council has paid in compensation to pupils/parents on behalf
of a school under your authority in the 2014, 2015 and 2016
calendar years

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested, which is
below:

2014:

April
£3,000
Pupil’s thumb trapped and injured in a
door.

2015:

October £18,000 Pupil’s thumb
trapped and injured in a door.

2016:

None

(Notes: The two payments referred to above
relate to the settlement of the same claim. We are not
prepared to reveal the name of the school involved as this may
inadvertently affect the claimant’s data protection
rights)

11/1/17

10073

Please accept this email as a request for the
following information, in relation to the property known at:

Elstow Road Bedford

Access is required to records containing the
information necessary to answer the following questions of the
CON29R form:

3.1 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.2 – Highways Development Control Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (b) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (c) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (d) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (e) – Highways Development Control
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (f) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.7 (g) – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.9 (a)-(n) - Planning Department, Bedford
Borough Council

3.10 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

3.12 – Environmental Health Department,
Bedford Borough Council

3.14 - Environmental Health
Department, Bedford Borough Council

3.15 – Planning Department, Bedford Borough
Council

Thank you for your requests for information. Your request
has been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.
Regarding the questions relating to planning, the Planning
department advise that all information relating to planning
applications is available on our website:

The data used for answering questions 3.1, 3.2
and 3.7(e) is accessible for viewing on appointment directly with
Highways Development Control.

Please find the information you requested as
an attachment and also detailed below:

11/1/17

10074

Please advise the total maintenance costs
for empty buildings owned owned by your local authority for 2015/16
and a list of the buildings that you own that are currently
empty.

If possible please also specify your costs
for empty buildings for

2015/16 with regard to:

1. Insurance.

2. Security.

3. Building maintenance.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

Please advise the total maintenance costs
for empty buildings owned by your local authority for 2015/16:

£58,485.00

Please also specify your costs for empty
buildings for 2015/16 with regard to:

1. Insurance -
£11,092.00

2. Security -
£27,963.00

3. Building
maintenance - £19,430.00

Further to your request for a list of
Council owned buildings that are currently empty, the Council, for
the reasons that follow, declines to disclose this information.

Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the
Council

1. States that the information requested
is exempt information.

2. Specifies, that the exemption in
question is contained within Section 31 (Law Enforcement) of the
FOI Act (FOIA).

The Council has declined to disclose a list of the
Council owned empty properties as this information is exempt under
Section 31 which is concerned with increased crime.

31/1/17

10075

Please could you provide me with the following
information:

1. Whether the council has paid a private
agency or agencies to provide at-home-care for the elderly and/or
infirm within the last 12 month period for which information is
available.

2. Details of which agency/agencies were used
during the last 12 month period for which information is
available.

3. How much money was paid to each
agency/agencies in fees during the last 12 month period for which
information is available.

4. What proportion of the total cost to the
customer these fees represented (if known)

Requester did not respond to clarification sought

10076

I would like to know:

1.How many Looked After Vietnamese children
were in your care each year: 2014, 2015 and 2016

2. How many Looked After Vietnamese
children (if possible, specifically Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking
children) went missing a. permanently, b. temporarily, each year:
2014, 2015 and 2016
3. How many, if any, unaccompanied asylum seeking children have
been received by the authority through the national dispersal
scheme/ Interim National Transfer Protocol, broken down by
month from Jan- Dec 2016.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

Please find the information you requested
enclosed.

1.How many Looked After Vietnamese children
were in your care each year: 2014, 2015 and 2016

3. How many, if any, unaccompanied asylum
seeking children have been received by the authority through the
national dispersal scheme/ Interim National Transfer Protocol,
broken down by month from Jan- Dec 2016.

Answer: Zero

*I can confirm that the
information you requested is held under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. However, the Council, for the reasons that follow,
declines to disclose the information requested.

Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the
Act the Council

States that this is
exempt information.

Specifies, that the exemption in question is the
subject of an absolute exemption contained within Section 40
(Personal Information) of the FOI Act (FOIA).

An explanation follows
below.

We are unable to provide the exact
figure due to low numbers and the possibility of a child/young
person being identifiable.

18/1/17

10077

Please can you tell me what information you
ask Discretionary Housing Payment applicants to provide to help
ascertain whether they are eligible for the payment.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

Please find the information you requested as
an attachment and also detailed below:

A: As Discretionary Housing Payments [DHP]
are special payments which are allocated from a specific fund,
where the total amount available is fixed in each year, the Council
must decide how much to pay to a person applying for DHP. The
Council has a policy to follow, in making this decision, so that
the limited funding can be used to help those people most in need
of extra financial help. The Council’s
application form is available on the Council’s website

Each applicant is required to complete the Council’s
application form, which I have attached; this shows the
questions we ask and the things that we look at when we make a
decision. This form may require further information but this
would be decided on individual circumstances where it is not
clearly from the application form. I have added a copy of the
Council’s DHP policy.

2./2/17

10078

I would like to establish some information regarding contract of
supply for agency staff in both children’s and adult’s services and
we would be grateful if you could answer the following questions
for us:

1. Could you please provide an organisation structure chart for
children and young people’s services including the names of all
teams and team managers and their contact details.

2. Could you please provide an organisation structure chart for
adults services including the names of all teams and team managers
and their contact details.

3. How many temporary social work staff did the authority have
deployed across Children’s Services in November 2016?

4. How many temporary social work staff did the authority have
deployed across Adults Services in November 2016?

5. How do you engage locum social workers in the council
(managed service, PSL, etc?) and who in the council is responsible
for this?

6. Can you tell me the amount of £ agency spend there has been
outside of the agreed vendor contract you have procured for staff?
January 2016 - December 2016

7. Can you tell me the departments within Social Services that
have had off contract agency spend?

8. In the past 12 months, have you procured an employment agency
to engage permanent social work staff?

9. If so, who in the council is responsible for this?

Applicant did not respond to clarification sought

10079

Please could you tell me which IT
systems/process's are being used in the following area's. I would
also like to know the expiry date of the contract for these systems
and any possible extensions

Adult Social Care

Does the authority use a system for running
frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems etc..

System -

Contract expiry date -

Does the authority use a system for the
brokerage/micro commissioning of packages?

System -

Contract expiry date -

Does the authroity use a system for contract
management of packages?

System -

Contract expiry date -

Does the authroity use a system for the
finance/invoicing of packages?

System -

Contract expiry date -

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
can confirm that we do hold some of the information you
requested.

Please could you tell me which IT systems/process's are
being used in the following area's. I would also like to know the
expiry date of the contract for these systems and any possible
extensions

Adult Social Care

Does the authority use a system for
running frameworks, dynamic purchasing systems etc..

System – Delta e-Sourcing

Contract expiry date –
31/03/2017

Does the authority use a system for
the brokerage/micro commissioning of packages?

System – N/A

Contract expiry date –
N/A

Does the authroity use a system for
contract management of packages?

System – N/A

Contract expiry date –
N/A

Does the authroity use a system for
the finance/invoicing of packages?

This is a request, made under the Freedom of
Information Act 2000, for information held by your local
authority. The department holding this information is that
which has lead responsibility for dealing with ‘looked after’
children.

Please provide the information that
your local authority holds regarding the following:-

Section A: Overall S20
population

a) How many looked after children were in the
care of your local authority under section 20 Children Act 1989 as
at:-

(i) 31 March 2014;

(ii) 31 March 2015;

(iii) 31 March 2016;

(iv) 31 October 2016?

b) Of these, as of each date, how many were
unaccompanied asylum seeking children?

c) As at 31 October 2016, how many of the
unaccompanied asylum seeking children who are

looked after under a section 20 Children Act
1989 arrangement have been looked after under

section 20 for:-

(i) less than 1
year;

(ii) 1 to 2 years;

(iii) 2- 3 years;

(iv) longer than 3 years.

Section B: Questions about
accommodated children who are NOT unaccompanied asylum seeking
children

The rest of these
questionsapply to looked after children in
the care of your local authority under a section 20 Children Act
1989 arrangement, who are NOT unaccompanied asylum seeking
children.

1. As at 31
October 2016, of the looked after children in the care of your
local authority who are voluntarily accommodated under a section 20
Children Act 1989 agreement, how many were placed in:-

2. As at 31 October
2016, of the looked after children in the care of your local
authority who were voluntarily accommodated under a section 20
Children Act 1989 arrangement how many were:-

(i)
under 1;

(ii)
1-4 years;

(iii)
5 -9 years;

(iv)
10-15 years;

(v)
16 and over?

3a) As at
31 October 2016, of the looked after children in the care of your
local authority who were voluntarily accommodated under a section
20 Children Act 1989 arrangement, how many had become looked
children since 1 April 2015?

3b) Of those
children, how many were subject to:-

(i) care proceedings at the time the
arrangement began; or

(ii) a pre-proceedings (PLO)
process during which parents are entitled to free, independent
legal advice at the time the arrangement began; or

(iii) no legal process at the time the
arrangement began?

4a)
How many foster for adoption (s.22C(9A)-(9C) Children Act 1989)
placements were initiated by your local authority during each of
the following periods:-

(i) 25 July 2014 to 31 March
2015;

(ii) 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2016;
and

(iii) 1 April 2016 until 31 October
2016?

4b)
In any of these cases did a placement involve more than one
child?

4c) How
many of the children placed in foster for adoption placements
initiated by your authority since 25 July 2014 were:

(i)
newborn to 6 weeks;

(ii)
6 weeks to 6 months;

(iii)
6 months to 1year;

(iv) 1
year to 2 years; and

(v)
2 years to 3 years.

at the time that they became looked after?

5a)
How many of the foster for adoption placements initiated by your
local authority since 25 July 2014 were for children looked after
pursuant to a section 20 Children Act 1989 voluntary accommodation
agreement?

5b)
Of these, how many were subject to:-

(i) care proceedings at the
time that the fostering for adoption placement began; or

(ii) a pre-proceedings (PLO)
process (during which parents are entitled to free, independent
legal advice under regulation 5(1)(e) of the Civil Legal Aid
(Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013) at
the time that the fostering for adoption placement began; or

(iii) no legal process at
the time that the fostering for adoption placement began?

5c)
In relation to children subject to a foster for adoption placement
initiated by your local authority since 25 July 2014 who are looked
after pursuant to a section 20 Children Act 1989 voluntary
accommodation agreement, how many were aged:

(i)
newborn to 6 weeks;

(ii)
6 weeks to 6 months;

(iii)
6 months to 1year;

(iv) 1
year to 2 years; and

(v)
2 years to 3 years.

at the time that they become looked after?

Section C: Short break
provision

6a)
As at 31 October 2016 how many children in your local authority
area receive short break or respite care provided under section 20
Children Act 1989?

6b)
Of those, how many are children with special
needs/disabilities?

Section D: Policy/good
practice

7.
Please confirm whether your local authority has any of the
following:-

(i) a written
policy relating to the use of section 20 voluntary agreements with
parents and others with parental responsibility;

(ii) written guidance
for social workers in the authority about the use of section 20
voluntary agreements with parents and others with parental
responsibility;

(iii) a template form
of written agreement for parents regarding entering into a section
20 Children Act 1989 voluntary arrangement?

7a. Please
provide a copy of these documents.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

· Find out the
number of parking meters owned by local councils that need to be
replaced due to the introduction of the new pound coin.

· Find out how many
will need a software update and how many will need to be completely
replaced.

· Find out the
approximate cost of replacing or updating these parking
meters.
Number of parking meters

· What is
the total number of parking meters owned by your council?

· Of this number, how
many will need to be completely replaced to cater for the
introduction of the new pound coin?

· Of this number, how many
will only need software updates to cater for the introduction of
the new pound coin?
Approximately how much will it cost to completely replace one
of the parking meters owned by your council?

· Approximately how
much will it cost to upgrade the software of a single machine to
cater for the new pound coin?

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

Please find the information you requested
below.

What is the total number of parking meters
owned by your council?

208

Of this number, how many will
need to be completely replaced to cater for the introduction of the
new pound coin?
No replacements needed.

· Of this number, how many
will only need software updates to cater for the introduction of
the new pound coin?
208

· Approximately how much will it
cost to completely replace one of the parking meters owned by your
council?
Not applicable.

Approximately how much will it cost to upgrade
the software of a single machine to cater for the new pound
coin?
On street machines £145.00 each

Off street machines £220.00 each

16/1/17

10082

Aim:

· Find out the total revenue
generated from parking meters owned by local councils in England
between the years of 2012 and 2017.
Revenue generated from parking meters

· In the following
financial years, what was the total amount of revenue generated
from parking meters owned by your council?

Timescale

Revenue
generated

2012 – 2013

2013 – 2014

2014 – 2015

2015 – 2016

2016-2017 (if
available)

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

Can you please provide me with a list of
work-related deaths reported to you as part of your
responsibilities under The Health and Safety (Enforcing
Authority) Regulations 1998 since 2008. I would like to
receive the information as a series of columns detailing:

1/ The date of the incident.

2/ The name of the deceased.

3/ The deceased's age.

4/ A description of the incident.

5/ The industry sector.

6/ The deceased's employment status (ie,
employed, self-employed).

7/ The name of organisation where the
work-related death occurred.

I refer to your recent enquiry for information regarding
information held by the Council under the provisions of the Freedom
of Information Act 2000 concerning work related death reported
since 1998 within the Borough of Bedford. Your request was:

 Can you please provide me with a
list of work-related deaths reported to you as part of

your responsibilities under The
Health and Safety (Enforcing Authority) Regulations

1998 since 2008.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or

not the information exists and I can
confirm that we do hold the information you requested,

this request has been answered
below.

There have been zero (0) reports
received regarding work related deaths on premises enforced by
Bedford Borough Council under The Health and Safety (Enforcing
Authority) Regulations 1998 since 2008.

7/2/17

10084

I am writing to you under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 to
request the following information from Bedford Borough
Council, Schools and Education Team.

I would like to request a list of School names and addresses,
with the contact details for the following administrative and
academic job functions, as appropriate to each school type:

Admin Contacts

Head Teacher

Deputy Head

Bursar

Business Manager

Site Services Manager and/or Caretaker

IT Manager (infrastructure)

School Secretary

Catering Manager

Curriculum Contacts

Head of Art and Design

Head of Citizenship

Head of Computing

Head of Classics

Head of Design and Technology

Head of English / Literacy

Head of Geography

Head of History

Head of Humanities

Head of Maths / Numeracy

Head of Modern Foreign Languages

Head of Music

Head of Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE)

Head of Physical Education

Head of Psychology

Head of Religious Education

Head of Science

Head of Sociology

Please include the DFE School Number with each record.

If it were possible to have direct email addresses for each
contact this would also be favourable.

Further to your request for information, I can confirm that the
information you requested is held under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. However, the Council, for the reasons that follow,
declines to disclose the information requested.

Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the
Council

1. States that part of this is
exempt information.

2. Specifies, that the exemption
in question is the subject of an absolute exemption contained
within Section 21 (Information accessible to applicant by other
means) of the FOI Act (FOIA). An explanation follows
below.

The links below include school addresses, contact details and
name of head teacher, all other information requested would need to
come from the school itself as we do not hold this data

Under the Freedom of Information Act, can I request the
following information please:
1. How many individuals have been referred by the authority under
the ‘Prevent' scheme for further action/assessment during the last
three financial years (including 2016/17 so far)?
- What is the sex and age of those referred and date of
referral.
2. A list of organisations and societies which have received
‘Prevent' funding in the areas covered by the authority for each
the last three financial years (including 2016/17 so far). For each
please provide the amount of funding received.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

1. How many
individuals have been referred by the authority under the ‘Prevent'
scheme for further action/assessment during the last three
financial years (including 2016/17 so far)?

- What is the sex and age of those referred and date of
referral.

Answer:

Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act
the Council

States that the information requested is
exempt information.

Specifies, that the exemption in question is contained
within Section 24 (National security) and Section 31 (Law
Enforcement) of the FOI Act (FOIA).

In applying this exemption(s) we have
had to balance the public interest in withholding the information
against the public interest in disclosure. The factors we
considered in deciding where the public interest lay are because
the level of breakdown requested, i.e. individuals referred from a
particular local authority (or LEA), when used in connection with
other information which may be available by other sources, could
lead to individuals being identified. This could result in
individuals being more reluctant to engage with the programme which
in turn would have a direct impact on national security and law
enforcement.
2. A list of organisations and societies which have received
‘Prevent' funding in the areas covered by the authority for each
the last three financial years (including 2016/17 so far). For each
please provide the amount of funding received.

Answer: We do not hold this
information.

2/2/15

10086

Under the Freedom of Information Act, can I request
the following information please:
1. How many individuals have been referred by the Local Education
Authority under the ‘Prevent' scheme for further action/assessment
during the last three financial years (including 2016/17 so
far)?
Please include the outcome of this process, if known in each case,
as well as the date of the referral, the age of the individual
involved, and the school involved.*
* If the individual school cannot be named, please ensure that we
are given the remaining details covering number of referrals, age
and date of referral etc.
3. Details of the total Prevent budget for for each of the last
three financial years (including 2016/17 so far).
4. Details of any Prevent training arranged by the Local Education
Authority over the last three financial years (including 2016/17 so
far), including who received it and why.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

1. How many individuals have been referred by
the Local Education Authority under the ‘Prevent' scheme for
further action/assessment during the last three financial years
(including 2016/17 so far)?

Answer:

Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act
the Council

States that the information requested is
exempt information.

Specifies, that the exemption in question is contained
within Section 24(1)(National security) and Section 31 (1)(a) (Law
Enforcement) of the FOI Act (FOIA).

In applying this exemption(s) we have
had to balance the public interest in withholding the information
against the public interest in disclosure. The factors we
considered in deciding where the public interest lay are because
the level of breakdown requested, i.e. individuals referred from a
particular local authority (or LEA), when used in connection with
other information which may be available by other sources, could
lead to individuals being identified. This could result in
individuals being more reluctant to engage with the programme which
in turn would have a direct impact on national security and law
enforcement.

2. Please include the outcome of this process,
if known in each case, as well as the date of the referral, the age
of the individual involved, and the school involved.*

Answer: Please see above response to
Question 1.
* If the individual school cannot be named, please ensure that we
are given the remaining details covering number of referrals, age
and date of referral etc.
3. Details of the total Prevent budget for each of the last three
financial years (including 2016/17 so far).

Answer: This information is exempt
from disclosure by virtue of the exemptions at Section 24(1)
(National Security) and 31(1)(a) (Law Enforcement) of the Freedom
of Information Act. These exemptions relate respectively to
National Security and Law enforcement. Disclosure of information
would open up detailed information about how Prevent resource is
apportioned and potentially the identity of areas of priority and
show where capabilities are focused. This may impact negatively on
the delivery of Prevent, and on the range of activities deployed to
prevent terrorism. This includes activity to disrupt those who
promote terrorism, and protect individuals who are vulnerable to
recruitment, or who have already been recruited by
extremists.

4. Details of any Prevent training arranged by
the Local Education Authority over the last three financial years
(including 2016/17 so far), including who received it and why.

Answer: Information exempt under
Section 24(1) (National Security) and 31(1)(a) (Law Enforcement) of
the Freedom of Information Act – disclosure of information would
otherwise prejudice, or would be likely otherwise to prejudice, the
effective conduct of public affairs.

2/2/17

10087

I am writing to make a request under the Freedom of
Information Act (2000).
I am interested in obtaining information about the amount of money
that the local authority spends providing people with temporary
accommodation. I am especially interested to see the financial
implications of the council providing people with hotel or hostel
accommodation.
Subsequently, I would be grateful if you could provide the
following information:
a)The number of people being provided with temporary accommodation
by the council and, of these,
i. how many are being housed in
hotel accommodation, and
ii. how many are being housed in
hostel accommodation.
b) The overall amount of money spent
by the local authority in providing temporary accommodation and a
further specification clarifying how much is spent on providing
accommodation in
i. hotels
ii. hostels
As much as is possible, I would appreciate data to be provided for
each month, for as far back as records are available/practical to
deliver. Also, it would be appreciated if the information could be
provided in an electronic format.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act,
the authority must state whether or not the information exists and
I confirm that we do hold the information you requested

I am interested in obtaining information about the way in
which the local authority provide people with temporary
accommodation. Specifically, I am particularly interested in the
length of time that such people spend in temporary accommodation
and the type of accommodation that they are provided with.
Subsequently, I would be grateful if you could provide the
following information:
a) A breakdown of the number of people staying in council provided
temporary accommodation because
i. they made a homelessness
application, or
ii. the council is yet to offer
the individual a permanent tenancy through the waiting list.
b) In cases where a homelessness
application has been made, I would like to know the average length
of time that an individual spend in temporary accommodation
i. overall, and
ii. whilst their application
is being processed and the council has yet to assess whether they
have a responsibility to house the individual.
c) The average time an
individual will spend in temporary accommodation whilst they are on
the council’s waiting list for a permanent tenancy.
d)The number of people in temporary accommodation being
housed in
i. a hotel, and
ii. a hostel.
As much as is possible, I would appreciate data to be provided for
each month, for as far back as records are available/practical to
deliver. Also, it would be appreciated if the information could be
provided in an electronic format.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
can confirm that we do hold the information you requested.
You requested:
I am interested in obtaining information about the way in which the
local authority provide people with temporary accommodation.
Specifically, I am particularly interested in the length of time
that such people spend in temporary accommodation and the type of
accommodation that they are provided with.
Subsequently, I would be grateful if you could provide the
following information:
a) A breakdown of the number of
people staying in council provided temporary accommodation
because
i. they made a homelessness
application,
Answer:
Financial Year Total number of households in Temporary
Accommodation
2009/2010 0
2010/2011 121
2011/2012 116
2012/2013 174
2013/2014 166
2014/2015 244
2015/2016 250
or
ii. the council is yet to offer the
individual a permanent tenancy through the waiting list.
Answer:
Nil
b) In cases where a
homelessness application has been made, I would like to know the
average length of time that an individual spend in temporary
accommodation
i. overall, and
ii. whilst their application is being
processed and the council has yet to assess whether they have a
responsibility to house the individual.
Answer: I can confirm that the information you requested is
held under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. However, the
Freedom of Information Act 2000 does not oblige the Council to
comply with a request for information if it estimates that the cost
of complying with the request would exceed the “appropriate
limit.”
This appropriate limit has been set in the Freedom of Information
and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004
which provides that for a local authority the appropriate limit is
£450. This is calculated by reference to a maximum of 18 hours
being taken and the cost of staff time being set in the Regulations
as £25 per hour. The Regulations also say that In calculating
the amount the Council may, “for the purpose of its estimate, take
account only of the costs it reasonably expects to incur in
relation to the request in: (a) determining whether it holds the
information, (b) locating the information, or a document which may
contain the information, (c) retrieving the information, or a
document which may contain the information, and (d) extracting the
information from a document containing it.”
The Council has therefore decided to refuse your request.
An explanation follows:

i.We have only collected this data since Jan 2016. The
current average length of stay is 129 days. We are unable to
provide the data for any of the previous 6 years as this would
involve individually accessing every record and would therefore
exceed the 18 hour limit for providing information requested under
the Freedom of Information Act.
ii.The Council works towards the code of guidance deadline of 33
days in which to make a decision. There are a few exceptions
to this where a case may reach 40 days. We are unable to
provide the specific data requested for any of the previous 6 years
as this would involve individually accessing every record and would
therefore exceed the 18 hour limit for providing information
requested under the Freedom of Information Act.
c) The average time an individual will spend in
temporary accommodation whilst they are on the council’s waiting
list for a permanent tenancy.
Answer:
This information is held by bpha who administer the housing
register on the Council’s behalf. They should be approached
for this.
d) The number of people in
temporary accommodation being housed in
i. a hotel, and
Answer:
There are currently 8 households being accommodated in a hotel, Bed
and Breakfast or guest house today
ii. a hostel.
Answer:
Nil

21/4/17

10089

1. Which single street in your council area
has produced the highest income from parking enforcement (income
from just fines) in the 2015/2016 financial year? Please provide
details of the number of tickets issued and the income to the
council of motorists paying parking enforcement fines in this
single street in the 2015/16 financial year.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

Please find the information you requested
below.

1. Which single
street in your council area has produced the highest income from
parking enforcement (income from just fines) in the 2015/2016
financial year? Please provide details of the number of tickets
issued and the income to the council of motorists paying parking
enforcement fines in this single street in the 2015/16 financial
year.

Castle Lane 1465 Penalty Charge
Notices issued.

Income from parking enforcement in this
street £55,123.05.

10090

Please can you treat this as an FOI request
and supply the following information:

1. What is the total value of
works of art or notable collections of value held by your
authority?

2. Please list the most valuable
five works of art / collections of note held by the authority.

3. Since 2010, how many and
which works of art have been sold by the authority, and how much
did they raise?

I refer to your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council. Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information
Act, the authority must state whether or not the information exists
and I confirm that we do hold the information you requested.
Please
see attached on collections

Please note some of the information requested are on our
website and therefore exempt. This includes information from
‘Council-owned art gallery and museum
collections. The exemption in question is the
subject of an absolute exemption contained within Section
21(information accessible to applicant by other means) of
the FOI Act (FOIA). The web link is provided in the
attachment

7/2/18

10091

under the Freedom of Information Act 2000 and in doing so
gratefully request your help in providing to us the following
information from the Business Rates Department at your council.

Further to your request for information, I can confirm that the
information you requested is held under the Freedom of Information
Act 2000. However, the Council, for the reasons that follow,
declines to disclose the information requested.
You requested information on Business rates as stated in your
e-mail below.
Pursuant to Section 17 (1) of the Act the Council
1.States that the Business Rates data sets information requested is
exempt information.
2.Specifies, that the exemption in question is the subject of an
absolute exemption contained within Section 21 of the FOI Act
(FOIA).
An explanation follows below:The Business Rates data sets are now
published on the website.

As a rule these will be updated as
follows:

Business Rates Data Sets – Monthly
Balances

Written on and off – At least six
monthly(possibly quarterly)

Credit Balances – Bi-monthly

24/1/17

10092

I understand that the following contract has
either expired or is due to expire shortly. Can you tell me if a
new contract has been put in place, has the existing contract been
extended or if the service is no longer being provided.

Contracted service: Grounds
Maintenance

Expiry Date: 31/03/2016

Contractor: Sodexo

Other details: This is a grass cutting
contract for highway verges and amenity open spaces.

If a new contract has been put in place please
provide: -

Contractor name

Start date

Duration

Extension Options

End date

Short description of service

Contract name and reference ID

If the contract has been extended please
provide the new end date. Also advise if there are any further
potential extension options.

Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act, the
authority must state whether or not the information exists and I
confirm that we do hold the information you requested. The
information you requested is as follows:

Since the contract with Sodexo expired, all
work has been brought back in-house and is managed and undertaken
by Bedford Borough Council’s Grounds Maintenance workforce.

20/1/17

10093

Under the Freedom of Information Act can I ask
for the following information from your authority:

How many empty homes has your authority registered
as vacant in the financial year 2015/2016.

How many of those properties have lay vacant for over
a) two years b) five years and c) ten years

In the year 2016-2017 how many of those homes have been brought
into use? By that I mean is now occupied?

How many Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOS) has your
authority used in the last five years?

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold the information
you requested.

How many empty homes has your
authority registered as vacant in the financial year
2015/2016. There were 1,158 properties classed as vacant on 5
October 2015.

How many of those properties have
lay vacant for over a) two years b) five years and c) ten
years a) Of the 1,158 properties classed as vacant on 5
October 2015, 149 properties were subject to an ‘Empty Property
Council Tax Premium ‘, which means that each property must have
been unoccupied and substantially unfurnished for at least two
years.

b), c) To produce the information
requested, regarding properties which have been vacant for over
five years and over ten years, will require a manual check of the
Council Tax records and will take in excess of 18 hours to
complete. However, the Freedom of
Information Act 2000 does not oblige the Council to comply with a
request for information if it estimates that the cost of complying
with the request would exceed the “appropriate limit.”
This appropriate limit has been set in the Freedom of
Information and Data Protection (Appropriate Limit and Fees)
Regulations 2004 which provides that for a local authority the
appropriate limit is £450. This is calculated by reference to a
maximum of 18 hours being taken and the cost of staff time being
set in the Regulations as £25 per hour. The Regulations also
say that In calculating the amount the Council may, “for the
purpose of its estimate, take account only of the costs it
reasonably expects to incur in relation to the request in: (a)
determining whether it holds the information, (b) locating the
information, or a document which may contain the information, (c)
retrieving the information, or a document which may contain the
information, and (d) extracting the information from a document
containing it.” The Council has therefore decided to
refuse this part of your request.

In the year 2016-2017 how many of those
homes have been brought into use? By that I mean is now occupied?
So far this financial year 53 properties are recorded as being
brought back in to use due to the Council’s intervention.

How many Empty Dwelling Management Orders (EDMOS) has your
authority used in the last five years? None

7/2/17

10094

Under the Freedom of Information Act can I ask
for the following information:

Please provide details of the total number of days that: a)
teachers and b) other school staff were absent due to sickness in
each academic year, in Local Authority Maintained Schools since
2013-14, including the current year to date.

Please provide the absence rate for a) teachers and b) other
school staff in each academic year since 2013-14, including the
current year to date (expressed as a percentage).

Please provide (a) the number and (b) the percentage of the
total number of sickness days (referred to in Q1 and Q2), which
were attributed to mental ill-health or stress-related
conditions.

If it is possible to do so within the limits of the FOI
legislation, please also provide a breakdown of all the other
reasons provided for these absences(for example, heart problems,
broken bones, etc.

I refer to your recent enquiry for information held by the
Council. Under the provisions of the Freedom of Information
Act, the authority must state whether or not the information exists
and I confirm that we do hold the information you requested.

We hold details of working days lost
for mainstream Council staff, but for school-based staff we only
hold periods of absence and for schools no absence reasons are
recorded on the Council’s HR system.

3/2/17

10095

Under the Freedom of Information Act please
supply all copies of letters, email, notes and other correspondence
between Bedford Borough Council Planning, Central Bedfordshire
Waste & Minerals, EHO Pete Nash, PPS Planning, Growing Beds
Recycling Services Limited and any other parties/documents in
respect of planning application

I refer to your recent enquiry for information
held by the Council. Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I can confirm that we have answered your
question below.

There is no further information between the
parties mentioned in your request that has not already been
provided to you.

8/2/17

10096

I'd be grateful if you could please provide
me with the following information under the freedom of information
request legislation:

1. An estimate of the number of registered
disabled people in your area (and how this has been obtained)?

2. The current number of accessible homes
in your area built since 2010?

3. An estimate of the number of accessible
homes required by 2020 in your area (and how this has been
calculated)?

4. The total number of people on the
waiting list for accessible homes as of 1st Jan 2017?

5. The total number of accessible homes
available in your area as of 1st Jan 2017?

6. How (in detail) disabled people are
currently involved in your process for gathering evidence on
housing need?

Thank you for your request for information about
disability and accessible housing which we received on 13 January
2017. Please note your request has been considered under EIR
and FOI and the information requested is below in
bold. Request pursuant to
Environmental Information Regulations Act 2004 – Request No.
10096

Under the provisions of the Freedom of
Information Act, the authority must state whether or not the
information exists and I confirm that we do hold some the
information you requested.

1. An estimate of the
number of registered disabled people in your area (and how this has
been obtained)? - 147 children are currently
registered on the disability register. Please note: This is a
voluntary register.

4. The total number of people
on the waiting list for accessible homes as of 1st Jan 2017?
- Do not hold information. Bedford Borough Council
transferred its housing stock to Bedfordshire Pilgrims Housing
Association (BPHA) in 1990. However, BPHA may have the
information and they can be contacted atinfo@bpha.org.uk.

6. How (in detail)
disabled people are currently involved in your process for
gathering evidence on housing need?– We are producing a
series of care and support accommodation strategies. The
proposed groups to be covered by these are: learning disabilities,
physical disabilities, mental health and older people. The
Learning Disabilities Strategy is the furthest advanced and a
public consultation including engagement with user groups has been
carried out.

7/2/17

10097

Re: High Street, Podington,
Wellingborough

Please could you supply the following Con29
information as relates to the above property/ies, pursuant to the
Environmental Information Regulations:

Con29
3.3Drainage is the property served by sustainable
urban drainage system/ Are there any SuDs featured within the
boundary of the property? If yes, is the owner responsible for
maintenance?Con29 3.7Do any statutory notices
which relate to the following matters exist in relation to the
property other than those revealed in a response to any other
enquiry herein:

Con29 3.11Has
any enforceable order or decision been made to compulsorily
purchase or acquire the property?Con29
3.12Do any of the following apply (including any
relating to land adjacent to or adjoining the property which has
been identified as contaminated land because it is in such a
condition that harm or pollution of controlled waters might be
caused on the property) –

(a) a contaminated land notice;

(b) in relation to a register maintained
under section 78R of the Environmental Protection Act 1990(5)
–

(i) a decision to make an entry;
or

(ii) an entry; or

(c) consultation with the owner or
occupier of the property conducted under section 78G(3) of the
Environmental Protection Act 1990(6) before the service of a
remediation notice?

Thank you for your request for information. Your request has
been considered under the Environmental Information Regulations
2004.

I attach the information you requested from
Environmental Health & Trading Standards department.